It was good to hear from Bridget Phillipson at the Confederation of School Trusts conference last week, promising 6500 new teachers over the course of this government.
However, I don’t believe that this will solve the current teacher retention crisis.
The rate of teachers leaving the state sector for reasons other than retirement has grown to record highs in recent years:
🛑 In 2021-22, 39,930 teachers (8.8% of the sector) left state schools, up from 32,130 (6.9%) the previous year. This represents the highest departure rate since records began in 2010-11.
🛑 Including retirements and deaths, 43,997 teachers (9.7% of the workforce) left in 2021-22.
Retention of newly qualified and early career teachers has been particularly concerning:
🛑 In 2022-23, 11.3% of teachers quit after just one year of teaching.
🛑 This figure rises to 25.9% leaving after three years and 32.5% after five years.
Even experienced teachers are leaving at higher rates:
🛑 For teachers with over a decade of experience, retention rates are now at the lowest level since data collection began in 2010. Only 59% of teachers remain in the profession a decade after qualification, down from over 65% ten years ago.
I believe that we need to urgently review why existing staff are leaving schools in addition to recruiting new teachers.
High levels of workload and poor wellbeing is generally acknowledged as major causes of the exodus from teaching. However, I believe that school leaders, as well as government ministers, have a responsibility to solve this problem.
School leaders still have the ability to shape their culture and ethos to support and protect staff. Effective leaders can safeguard their staff from excessive workload, and ensure that wellbeing is nurtured and protected.
🤔 Do you agree?
Join in the conversation and share your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks to Chris Donnelly for inspiring the graphic for this post.
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